Fast charging of electric vehicles while in motion or stationary

ABSTRACT

Disclosed embodiments facilitate exceptionally fast charging of electric vehicles that may be stationary or in motion. Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) is accomplished by use of high frequency power supplies, transmitting antennas, vehicle receivers and high capacity capacitors within the vehicles. The capacitors may be quickly charged and may be then used to directly power a vehicle and/or charge a vehicle&#39;s native battery. A vehicle receiver may wirelessly receive a wave of electrical power and cover the power to DC for further use or transition to the capacitors or vehicle battery.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a utility application based upon U.S. patent application Ser.No. 63/082,599 filed on Sep. 24, 2020 and claims the priority date ofsaid application. This related application is incorporated herein byreference and made a part of this application. If any conflict arisesbetween the disclosure of the invention in this utility application andthat in the related provisional application, the disclosure in thisutility application shall govern. Moreover, the inventor(s) incorporateherein by reference any and all patents, patent applications, and otherdocuments hard copy or electronic, cited or referred to in thisapplication.

COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK NOTICE

This application includes material which is subject or may be subject tocopyright and/or trademark protection. The copyright and trademarkowner(s) has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by any of thepatent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Officefiles or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright and trademarkrights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention

The invention generally relates to the wireless transfer of energy. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to means and methods of chargingelectric machinery, such as electric vehicles while such machinery iseither in motion or stationary.

(2) Description of the Related Art

The known related art fails to anticipate or disclose the principles ofthe present invention.

In the related art, various forms of wireless charging are known, butfail to disclose, anticipate or make obvious the methods and mechanismsof the wireless charging systems disclosed herein.

Thus, there is a need in the art for the disclosed embodiments.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes shortfalls in the related art bypresenting an unobvious and unique combination and configuration ofmethods and components to wirelessly, quickly and efficiently transfersignificant amounts of electricity to an electric vehicle or receivingsystem. In general, a capacitor or capacitor system may be integratedinto an electric vehicle or the vehicle's battery to leverage thecapacitor's ability to nearly instantaneously absorb and discharge powerinto the battery or directly to the vehicle's electric motors.

In the disclosed embodiments, new speeds and efficiencies in wirelesspower transfer (WPT) may be achieved by use of high frequency energywaves in a possible range of 1 to 100 GHz. Such transmissions mayoriginate from equipment placed in roadways, at or near stop signs orstoplights or in parking lots. Once a power wave is received, the powermay be converted to direct current (DC) before transmission to thevehicle capacitors and/or the vehicle electrical system. Once the energyis sent to the vehicle capacitors, the capacitors may recharge thevehicle battery long after the WPT ends. Since vehicle batteries chargeat a much slower rate than capacitors, the disclosed embodimentsrepresent a significant improvement in the related art, as capacitorsare used as mobile buffers to accept and store power at a relativelyhigh rate of speed and then slowly recharge the vehicle battery.

These and other objects and advantages will be made apparent whenconsidering the following detailed specification when taken inconjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a schematic view of a disclosed system

FIG. 2 depicts a transmission and receiving system

FIG. 3 depicts a sectional view of a rectenna or receiver system

FIG. 4 depicts a top view of a rectenna array or receiver system

FIG. 5 A depicts a process to manufacture rectenna and receiver

FIG. 5 B depicts a process to manufacture rectenna and rectifier

FIG. 6 A depicts a possible wheel or wheel well location for rectenna orreceiver

FIG. 6 B depicts a possible frunk or front hood location for rectenna orreceiver

FIG. 7 depicts a transmission system

FIG. 8 depicts a sectional view and a plan of a gyrotron system

REFERENCE NUMERALS IN THE DRAWINGS

100 general embodiment

200 rectenna or receiving antenna or vehicle receiver

205 rectenna array

210 rectifier side of receiving antenna

220 wire in receiving antenna

230 ground plate of receiving antenna

240 dielectric of receiving antenna

250 general process of manufacture of a receiver and rectenna

252 sputtering

254 developing

256 coating resist

258 AL etching

260 exposure

262 resist removal

300 transmitting antenna

400 rectifier, converts AC to DC

600 rectenna Array

700 wireless power transmission lens

800 gyrotron

801 cathode with filament

802 resonance cavity

803 collector

804 microwave mirror

805 vacuum window

806 electron beam

807 microwave beam

808 magnet coils

809 magnetic field

810 high voltage power supply

811 filament power supply

812 cooling water connections

813 electrical insulator

814 high-voltage terminals

815 magnet (possibly, superconducting)

900 vehicle

920 outline representation of a vehicle

1000 electric motor

1100 batteries

1200 capacitor bank

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is directed to certain specificembodiments of the invention. However, the invention can be embodied ina multitude of different ways as defined and covered by the claims andtheir equivalents. In this description, reference is made to thedrawings wherein like parts are designated with like numeralsthroughout.

Unless otherwise noted in this specification or in the claims, all ofthe terms used in the specification and the claims will have themeanings normally ascribed to these terms by workers in the art.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in a sense of “including,but not limited to.” Words using the singular or plural number alsoinclude the plural or singular number, respectively. Additionally, thewords “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import, when usedin this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and notto any particular portions of this application.

The above detailed description of embodiments of the invention is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, theinvention are described above for illustrative purposes, variousequivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention,as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, whilesteps are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments mayperform routines having steps in a different order. The teachings of theinvention provided herein can be applied to other systems, not only thesystems described herein. The various embodiments described herein canbe combined to provide further embodiments. These and other changes canbe made to the invention in light of the detailed description.

BACKGROUND

The disclosed embodiments address a common issue, colloquially referredto as “range anxiety” wherein an electric vehicle (EV) driver willbecome anxious during travel due to the current dearth of EV chargingstations. Often the range of travel advertised by an EV manufacturerdoes not hold true in real life driving conditions with the typical EVdriver enjoying using the superior acceleration and comfortable highspeeds of an EV, thus shortening the effect range. Also, the real liferange of an EV is further diminished by manufacturer recommendations tokeep the onboard battery charged between 80 to 20 percent of capacity,as a full charge or full discharge have deleterious effects on EVbattery life expectancy. Moreover, the stated miles left on a batterywhile driving are often inaccurate, not accounting for hilly terrain orspirited driving. To make matters even worse for an EV driver, once acharging station is reached, the time needed, even while using a SuperCharger, is typically at least 40 minutes which is seven or so timeslonger than filling the tank of gasoline powered vehicle. Thus, thecurrent state of EV range and usability leaves a great deal to bedesired.

The disclosed use of high frequency wireless power transmission andreceiving, capacitors integrated into an EV battery and/or EV motors orelectrical system and other disclosed components and methods greatlyincrease the usability of an EV. The disclosed embodiments includewireless power transmission wherever an EV can be expected to drive orpark. By use of high frequency wireless power transmission, one or morecapacitors of the EV may be charged while the vehicle is stationary orin motion. Charging times may be reduced to seconds. Once charged, thecapacitor(s) may recharge the EV battery at the battery's native rate ofrecharge. The capacitor(s) may also discharge directly in the electricEV motors or other EV components such as the AC or heating system. Insome cases, the wireless transmission may need to be converted into DCbefore charging the EV's capacitor(s).

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a contemplated system 100 wherein an EVcomprises one or more electric motors 1000, one or more traditional EVbatteries 1100, a bank or array of capacitors 1200 and a receiver 200for wireless power transmission. External to the EV is a wireless powertransmitter 300 or WPT.

With respect to capacitors, new capacitor technology has been developedthat has allowed the power density of capacitor to increase by threefoldor more, and their size to decrease by threefold of more.

FIG. 2 depicts a wireless power transmission system, which may includeare a receiver or rectenna 200 used to receive wireless power transfer,and can have varying capacities, sizes, and other attributes. A receiver200 may receive a wave of electricity from a transmitter or transmittingantenna 300.

Wireless power transfer (WPT) is a field where tremendous technologyimprovements have been made. However, transmitting high amounts of powerin a short time requires frequencies higher than typical, i.e. in theGHz range. It is anticipated that a disclosed system will utilize a WPTfrequency of 40-60 GHz utilizing a high frequency power supply, atransmitting antenna, and a receiver. The receiver in this case islikely to be a rectenna, which is a special type of receiving antennaused for converting high frequency electromagnetic energy into DCelectricity. The system of FIG. 2 comports with a contemplatedembodiment.

The receiver (rectenna, 200) may be a semiconductor as depicted in FIGS.3, 4, 5A and 5B. A circuit pattern was fabricated utilizing typicalsemiconductor processing equipment, in this case designed for 28-60 GHz(FIG. 5A. 5B). The number of rectennas can be changed such that as moreare added, more power can be transmitted. In the most likely embodiment,both the size of the rectenna and the number of rectenna will increasesuch that a minimum of 50 kW can be sent over less than a 5 secondperiod.

FIG. 3 depicts a sectional view of a single wireless power receiver 200.The receiver may have an antenna side that may be disposed in a downwarddirection to receive electricity or energy from a transmitting antenna.A receiver may have a rectifier side disposed near capacitors, with thecapacitors disposed within a vehicle. A receiver may comprise adielectric 240, ground plane 230, wire 220 and other components.

FIG. 4 depicts a grouping of rectenna receivers.

FIGS. 5A and 5B depicts processes to manufacture a rectenna, a rectifierand other components.

FIGS. 6A and 6B depict contemplated locations 205 for a receiver orrectenna with such locations including under the front 600 of a vehicle900 or in or below a frunk or trunk. The location of a receiver orrectenna may vary to comport with the features of an EV or a hybridvehicle.

FIG. 7 depicts a power transmission system. A gyrotron 800 or similardevice is used to generate the power needed at the proper frequency, andan in-line antenna is used to focus the beam such that it aligns withthe vehicle's rectenna array. Such a system my comprise a gyrotron 800in communication with a wireless power transmission lens 700.

A gyrotron 800 may be located below grade and used to generate a veryhigh frequency signal with significant energy (for example, 60 MHz with50 KW of power), and this is then transmitted to a fixed rectenna on avehicle which receives the wireless power charge, typicallydown-converted to 1000 VDC into the capacitors. A transmission lens 700may be located between the gyrotron and the rectenna (typically affixedjust above the gyrotron, mounted in the same location as the gyrotron)to properly orient the output beam of the gyrotron into the rectennaarray.

A disclosed system may include a power generation source such as agyrotron with power transmitted to a wireless power transmission lens700 or other antenna system. Energy may then be transmitted wirelesslyto a vehicle receiver 200. The receiver may also be considered arectenna or receiving antenna. The receiver may convert AC energy to DCenergy. Energy from the receiver may be sent to a vehicle capacitor bank1200 and/or vehicle batteries 1100. Vehicle motors may receive powerfrom either vehicle batteries and/or vehicle capacitors.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wireless power transmission (WPT) system forwirelessly charging an electric vehicle, the system comprising: a) atransmitting antenna wirelessly transmitting power to a receiver; b) thereceiver disposed upon an electric vehicle; c) the receiver transmittingpower to a plurality of capacitors, the capacitors disposed upon theelectric vehicle the capacitors transmitting power to vehicle batteriesand/or one more electric motors of the electric vehicle.
 2. The systemof claim 1 wherein the receiver takes the form of a rectenna.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2 wherein the rectenna converts AC power from thetransmitting antenna to DC power.
 4. The system of claim 1 wherein thereceiver comprises a rectifier and a rectenna.
 5. The system of claim 1wherein a gyrotron sends power to the transmitting antenna.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein the transmitting antenna comprises a lens.